Albay gov: 'Dollar-rich' PHL should generate more tourism jobs

Rich in dollars from Filipinos who work in the United States, the Philippines should be able to generate tourism-related jobs through entrepreneurship, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said Thursday. At the opening of the Bicol tourism and trade exhibit at the SM Megatrade Hall, Salceda noted the high flow of dollars to the Philippines from overseas Filipino workers. In 2010 alone, the country recorded gross international reserves of $62.1 billion, from $44.24 billion in 2009. Salceda noted the absence of entrepreneurship programs particularly in the tourism-related sector. “We are winning in dollars but there are no jobs created because there are no enterprises," he said. Various government sectors, including the Departments of Labor, Tourism, and Trade and Industry, should act with synergy to create jobs through skills training and guiding communities to begin enterprises, according to the Albay governor. The tourism sector produces immediate demands for entrepreneurship and, thus, create jobs, Salceda said. To provide jobs and help the poor, the government should focus on “wealth creation" involving small enterprises, he added. Salceda’s suggestions came at a time of heightened efforts by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez to attract more tourists to the Philippines. Bicol tourism, trade exhibit The Bicol tourism and trade exhibit at the SM Megatrade Hall, which stays open until Oct. 8, allows trade and tourism entrepreneurs to be acquainted with each other, explore investment prospects, and sell native products and delicacies. In his own province of Albay, Salceda said tourist arrivals are increasing by 51 percent year-on-year, with 54,000 arrivals registered in the first four months of the year. The province aims to reach 150,000 foreign tourist arrivals until the end of 2011, the governor said. — PE/VS, GMA News